PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Men's soccer team had a punishing victory over the visiting Penn Quakers Wednesday night that was a strong testament to how the team is progressing. After a fierce first half in which the Quakers tacked on two goals, La Salle battled back with a purpose and chipped away at the scoreboard with three unanswered goals, sealing the win with only nine minutes left on the clock.
The first half was desolate on La Salle's side, with seemingly strong offense having no numbers to show for it. Penn, on the other hand, was able to slide it past the net on two separate occasions. The first would come when senior Quaker Ryan Tracy sent it into the far corner of the goal in the 26th minute of play. Just over 6 minutes later Penn would strike again. This time it would be a header from defender Andy Howard off a corner kick sent in by sophomore Mike Klein.
While being down 2-0 may have hurt the Explorers in the past, it would prove inconsequential Wednesday night. The turnaround would be when sophomore Kevin Lydic(Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) took a cross from Taylor Young(Millersville, MD/Severna Park) and bent it into the far side of the goal, well out of reach of the diving goalkeeper. Senior Matt Kelly(West Chester, PA/La Salle College HS) said the quick attack was just what the Explorers needed. "We didn't get down on ourselves at the half like we do sometimes," said Kelly, "we knew what we had to do and we got at it in the second half. Lydic's goal definitely got us going."
The first Explorer goal of the night did just that, as the Explorers would run the show for the rest of the night. With 22 minutes left in the game, Mike Lehr would find the back of the net on a beautifully orchestrated set of passes from Jim Davis(Pittsgrove, NJ/A.P. Schalick) and Jeff Spiker(Yardley, PA/Pennsbury) to tie the score. La Salle would put the final nail in the coffin, however, when a deep floater from Lehr 45 yards out found the head of junior Jeremy Ortiz(Mount Laurel, NJ/Lenape) perfectly, who placed it into the corner of the net before Penn goalie Daniel Cepero could do anything about it. After that it was only a matter of keeping the Quakers at bay for the remaining nine minutes until the game ran down with a final score of 3-2.
Coach Bob Wilkinson credits the backups on the tremendous victory. "The subs that came into the game the first and second halves really made the corrections we needed on the field. The overall team energy came through when we needed it."
The Explorers now look to St. Joe's this weekend for their ninth game of the season. The game is scheduled for a 7:00pm start at the Hawk's home field.
